Prudes in Bemidji MN Censor Fiberglass Beaver

(from Kayakbiker)

Beaver sculpture prompts controversy in Bemidji is the name of the news item that appeared in the Bemidji paper and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Someone complained about a fiberglass beaver that they spotted during an art walk. (Artists created beavers which appeared as public art, much as they've made pigs in Seattle or cows in Belgium.) About 20 callers complained that something about the piece looked like female genitalia - officials made the artist remove the piece. In protest, artists staged a protest near where this happened. The artist is a former Kindergarten teacher and called the piece "Gaea," which can mean "Mother Earth" or "God is Gracious." The beaver has female figures painted on its sides and a tree on its back. Some see praying hands in the figures and some see female genitalia. Other workers covered up their works in protest (see photo below on right.) Image on left (above) is from Bemidji Pioneer | Bemidji, Minnesota; image on right is from Facebook page devoted to saving the sculpture.

From the comments - this image (below) was deemed pornographic by a woman's city government (Frank Frazetta's Eqyptian Queen) and she had to remove it from the window of her store, but eventually she won out and was able to put it back. The image of the Beaver peeking out of the bag is showing an example of how some of the other artists who made fiberglass beavers covered up and censored their art in support of the artist discussed above.

Comments

What a great exhibition ! Fiber glass is a thin material, and someone could think that items made of it are fragile. In fact it is only an appearance, this material is quite resistant. In the sixteeth in Israel they have even built cars out of it.